Arctic Alchemy, a beverage rich in history as well as flavor, took home a gold medal in the Old Ale or Strong Ale category of the prestigious 2014 Great American Beer Festival, which was held Thursday through Saturday in Denver. The ale was created by Lehigh Valley beer historian and brewing expert Christopher Bowen and produced through Fegley's Brew Works. It earned one of only five gold medals awarded to Pennsylvania brewers and the only to a Valley brewer.

"It's a magical beer for us," said Bowen, of Bethlehem. "It's a huge win."

The Great American Beer Festival awards gold, silver and bronze medals in nearly 90 beer-style categories. More than 5,000 beers were entered.

No Valley brewers took home silver this year and only two from Pennsylvania did. Fegley's Brew Works took home a bronze for its Berliner Weiss in the German-Style Sour Ale category, one of only five awarded to Pennsylvania brewers and the only one from the Valley.

"For us, it's incredible. We are super proud," said Traci Langer, marketing director for Fegley's Brew Works, which has brew pubs in Allentown and Bethlehem.

The two beers could not be more different. The Berliner Weiss is a light, 3 percent alcohol ale. Arctic Alchemy is a 12 percent alcohol brew, almost like a barley wine in taste and texture.

Rich Fegley, co-owner of Fegley's Brew Works, said Arctic Alchemy has a following among those who enjoy dark beers. The gold medal isn't the first time it was recognized at the Great American Beer Festival. In 2011, it won a bronze medal in the same category.

Bowen's Arctic Alchemy began with his fascination surrounding a bottle of Allsopp's Arctic Ale dating to 1852 that was auctioned in August 2007.

A history buff, Bowen began to research it for the next two and half years. He discovered more about the story of Allsopp's, its trademark "red hand" and how it had been commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1852 to accompany a group of Arctic explorers led by Sir Edward Belcher.

Belcher led five ships and took several hundred bottles of Allsopp's Arctic Ale on a journey to discover the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The mission failed and he was forced to abandon four of the five ships.

All that history prompted Bowen to travel with two pals on a 2,000-mile journey on motorcycles to the Canadian Arctic to re-create the beer in 2010.

Their journey was also filmed and made into a 60-minute documentary. The film is in post-production.

Bowen has also been researching other historical beverages. Last year he traveled to northern Scotland, where he met with an archaeologist and got a chance to see a 10th century brewery built by Vikings.

What's next for Arctic Alchemy? Bowen's brewing up other ways to tell the beverage's history, including a book.